But they’re marching to Bastille Day
La guillotine will claim her bloody prize
Free the dungeons of the innocent
The king will kneel, and let his kingdom rise

Wednesday
Miracle of miracles: Lightning wasn’t staring at me this morning when I woke up! Instead, he was curled up, asleep, on Jess’ pillow. Very cute. Of course, the three-ring circus had me up at 3:00 and at 5-something. But they were only brief moments of consciousness.

Research + lack of caffeinated liquid = Ass-draggin’ Rob.
The day passed very slowly. But, I seemed to perk up around 5:30 PM.

Jess and I met for a quick jaunt to Costco (and some quality people-watching). Then we came back here and she met the twins. (, what’re you waiting for…?)

NPR Stories
Talk of the Nation: A Life on the Right: William F. Buckley
All Things Considered: On the Beat in Chicago’s South Side
All Things Considered: Free Speech and Religious Hatred
All Things Considered: Ghost Hunters in the Thick of Night

Stray Toasters

  • I was looking through the new issue of FHM and saw articles about Cuddle Party and Banana Guard. The things that people come up with…
  • Five Ways to Kill a Man by Edwin Brock
  • Mina: I don’t want to watch you drink blood, pervert!
    Lord Fluffy: Are you kidding? It touched the floor. Disgusting.
    Read the rest:

  • Ray Liotta is rumored as a candidate for the role of Doctor Doom in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. For info about the FF and the not-so-good Doctor can be found here (click on “Fantastic Four” under “Browse By Families.”)
  • : Teen Titans Season Three begins Saturday, 28 Aug 04.
  • : Click here
  • One of the many joys of being in a house (and having my office in the basement) as opposed to an apartment: I can listen to music/watch TV at varying degrees of loudness and still not disturb Jess while she’s sleeping.
  • When I See an Elephant Fly, from Dumbo, is one of my favorite Disney songs. It’s silly and fun. That’s good enough for me.
  • Lilo & Stitch: Quotes, Trivia and Goofs
  • And in an odd aside: Kevin McDonald (one of the Kids in the Hall, who also provided the voice of Stitch) appeared in Outkast’s Roses video. When I read that, it made me chuckle.
  • Was (not Was)
  • I worked in retail for a few years before I started working for the USPS. I remember approaching a customer (a professor at one of the local colleges) and asking how he was doing. His response: “I’m wonderful. Do you know what that means?” I said something to the effect of “You’re doing well…?” He looked at me, smiled broadly and said,”It means I’m full of wonder.” I don’t remember what he bought that day, but I remember that he was one of the most pleasant and cheerful – and full of wonder – customers that I had the pleasure of helping.

Thought for the Day
A week ago, I wrote about friends and why I think that they’re important. Over the course of the week, I’ve been thinking about that and family and the concept of “home,” as well.

There are a couple of old sayings: “You can’t go home” and “You can’t choose your family.” I never really understood the former and I never really gave the latter a second thought until a few years ago. After appointing a few brain cells and synapses to the matter, I came to a conclusion: Both of those sayings are wrong.

You can go home. Dorothy did it in The Wizard of Oz. Superman did it (he went to the debris field that used to be Krypton). Hell, even MacGuyver went home. You can go home anytime you choose. But, the person who returns to the place that was once “home” will not necessarily be the same as the one who left. Or, “home” may not be the place that it once was; it may be somewhere completely different or unexpected. The Temptations and Rockapella pretty much nailed this concept with Papa Was a Rolling Stone and My Home, respectively. I’ve called a lot of places home: Maryland, North Carolina, Indiana and Utah (As a kid, I would have never imagined that “Utah” would wind up on the list…). And of them all, there’s no place that I felt that I couldn’t return.

Family is important. We may not always agree with them – we may not even like them – but they are ours. And we’re stuck with them. For better or worse. Till death do us part. Amen. Genetics, go figure.

I believe that you can choose your family, too. I’ve met people who have transcended from “friend” to “family.” I grew up with some of them. Some, I’ve know for many years. Others, I’ve had the good fortune and/or Providence’s grace to meet and we just “clicked.” Just like a genetic family, there are times when we don’t agree. Or, there may be occasions when we drift apart, due to physical distance or emotional differences. But, they’re still “there.”

One of my high school yearbooks had a saying in it: “I am a part of all I have met.” That’s true. So is the converse: “All I have met are a part of me.” Some have become bigger parts, some minor. Parts and counterparts. It’s good that we don’t always see eye-to-eye, because how else would we learn about each other? Or ourselves?

What happened to our innocence,
Did it go out of style?
Along with our naivete,
No longer a child.
Different eyes see different things,
Different hearts beat on different strings.
But there are times
For you and me, when all such things agree.
   – Different Strings

Stitch: This is my family. I found it, all on my own. It’s little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good.

Namaste.